Rep. Howard Coble Released From Hospital

Greensboro, NC -- US Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC, 6th District) was released from Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after spending the night and undergoing a battery of tests.

A spokesman for North Carolina's longest-serving congressional Republican says doctors gave Coble a clean bill of health and couldn't find a direct cause for his recent fainting spells. Coble was admitted to the hospital Tuesday after experiencing bouts of lightheadedness and dizziness for several weeks.

In a statement, the 81-year-old congressman said he would try to make some lifestyle changes in hopes of improving his health.

"I will admit that my dietary and nutrition habits are not exemplary, so I am going to attempt to eat healthier and better-balanced meals in the future," Coble said in the statement. "I don't think, however, that I will be adjusting my work schedule any. I hope to remain as visible and accessible in the 6th District and in Washington as in the past."

Coble's spokesman says doctors recommended that the representative wear a heart monitor to see if there's a tie between the recent lightheadedness and an irregular heartbeat, but that "all of the heart tests they conducted at the hospital were positive."

As Congress grapples with the fight over sequestration the rest of the week, Coble will remain in Greensboro.

"Since no votes are scheduled before sequestration takes effect this Friday, I will listen to my doctors and rest at home," Coble said in the statement. "If something breaks on Capitol Hill before then, I will make every effort to get back in time for any would-be votes."

Otherwise, the statement says, Rep. Coble plans to fly back to Washington, DC, on Monday.